Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own any of the Devil May Cry characters in this fiction, if I did, Kyrie would have died in the first ten minutes of the game, very brutally and with lots of blood, Dante and Nero would be together...and Vergil would be shirtless in the third game...and Arkham would wear a frilly princess dress for my entertainment.
Rated Mature for Blood, Lots of Gore, Language, Angst, Future Hot Man Sex, Hurting Nero, and Hurting Dante.
Chapter Twelve: Aphotic Abyss
Dante stabbed Rebellion through the large hellhounds jaw from a top its head when he managed to dodge the lesser demons and distract the hellhound enough with shooting out three of its four eyes. He rolled to the side as a flash of crimson lightning lashed out at him, using Ebony and Blue Rose to deflect some of the electricity that was too close for comfort. The devil hunter clenched his teeth when the lesser demons below him only increased in numbers, already enough to form a small army. The carmine demon growled loudly, the electricity swarming on its skin leaping out at Dante all at once as the hellhound's tails slammed down on the older hunter. Dante used the two guns he was carrying to hit the sparks of lightning, fizzling them out as he jumped out of the way of the tails. He counted four slashes of the tails as the demon continued to attempt to buck him off, his hold on Rebellion keeping him on the demon's back. He felt the urge to check on why it was taking Nero so long to seal the Hell Gate, worrying that the demons had overrun the injured young man.
The devil hunter knew he had let his worry for the younger hunter interfere when he found himself lying face first in the cracked ground, aware that he had forgotten the hellhound's fifth tail while trapped in his thoughts. He spit out the small amount of blood that pooled in his mouth, his bitten tongue healing quickly. The demon slayer got to his feet quickly, wiping the torn hide of the hellhound off his sword and onto the remaining grass. He kept an eye on the demons nearing and surrounding him as he placed Rebellion on his back again, his need to see the other hunter rising when his demon side growled. Nero's blood was fresh in the air, making his heartbeat pound in his ears as the adrenalin in his veins increased.
Dante kept pulling the triggers of the two guns, understanding that he could not tear his eyes from the hordes of devils around him without getting hit. When the scent of blood permeated the air thickly from the younger hunter's direction, he could not stop himself from giving in to the urge. His eyes widened, his breath stopping for a moment as he saw Nero standing weakly with his father's sword piercing through to the other side of his chest.
"Nero!" Dante shouted as soon as his lungs started working again, his eyes not leaving the younger man even when he felt one of the demons bite into his shoulder. A heavy mouth full of sharp teeth crashing down onto him knocking him out of his shock as the huge hellhound attempted to swallow him and the smaller demon sinking its fangs into his shoulder. Dante holstered Ebony, using the hand to stop the large demons jaws from crushing him before hastily shooting the lesser demon in the face with the revolver.
He watched the demon jerk backwards from the force of the bullet, falling out of the hellhound's mouth and scraping against the jagged teeth lining the mouth. He holstered the other slayer's gun where Ivory would normally sit, grabbing Rebellion from his back and pulling it off, slashing the top of the demon's muzzle in half as he did. Blood sprayed onto him as the hellhound shrieked and shook its head violently, trying to spit the hunter out as Dante stabbed the blade into its tongue. Dante ripped Rebellion out of the hellhound, ignoring the purple blood he was drenched in as he leapt from the demons mouth only to land in the accumulating pile of demons on the broken ground. Nero never left his mind as he slashed through the horde, losing sight of the Hell Gate as he screamed for the younger man.
Nero's glare started to weaken as his vision started to blur, wondering if the rabbit was getting off on just watching him die on the demonic sword. Rabi tilted its head slightly, yanking Sparda out of Nero's chest hard enough to force the young hunter to fall backwards and hit the black stone of the Hell Gate heavily. Nero bit his lip to stop from crying out, opening on eye through the pain and continuing the glare he refused to break. He watched Rabi stare at the sword of Sparda through his raised knees, a gloved hand under the rabbit's chin as if it was inspecting the blade.
"Something is still missing. I feel like my revenge is not yet complete, but what could be missing..." The demonic rabbit tilted it head back and forth as the younger man swallowed the blood filling his mouth that was threatening to drown him.
"Maybe...it's because I'm not Vergil, you fuck...fucking asshole!" He swallowed again, not liking how the wound in his chest was still burning and not even attempting to heal itself. He struggled to sit up, only managing to slip on some of his own blood and hit the back of his head on the floor again. "I'm Nero and...that fucking bastard you want to take over the demon world...told me he loved me earlier today. I don't plan on dying before...I kick his ass for i-it!" Rabi only blinked at him before gazing at Sparda again.
"You are nothing but a remnant of a greedy halfbreed, something that should have never existed formed from something that should have never existed. I suppose you could say I'm fixing Mundus's and Sparda's mistake for leaving you alive. Ah, now I remember. I have only paid you part of what you gave me. I stabbed you once..." Nero could not hold back the scream as Rabi stabbed the demonic sword back into his chest, the angle slightly different so the sharp blade cleaved his flesh in a new area. More blood filled the young man's lungs and mouth as the sword was ripped from his body again. "...yet you slashed me five times. It's only fitting for me to return the favor." Nero screamed again as the sword was plunged into his chest again, grabbing the blade with both of his hands in an attempt to stop the inhumane torture. His legs felt numb and he was almost positive that one of his lungs was nothing but mush now.
Rabi watched the paradisiacal display in front of it, the small stubs that had been its ears twitching as they listened to Dante screaming for the younger man while trying to fight his way to the Hell Gate. It pulled Sparda out of the younger hunter again despite the strong hold the other had on the blade, satisfaction increasing when it realized he was no longer glaring, the look in the azure eyes being that of suffering and frustration. Nero's screams fell on deaf ears as he was stabbed again, his grunt when the bloody sword was removed coming out as a sob as the pain overwhelmed and started to break him. The rabbit dragged the the tip of the broad sword over where his heart resided in his chest, blood flowing out of the corner of his mouth in a steady stream and he shut his eyes tightly. The damn rabbit knew how to kill them and he could not stop the fear welling up in his chest as he was aware that he would die from the next strike from the demon. The sword of Sparda was lifted from his chest, raising high into the air before swinging down towards Nero.
"Get the fuck away from him!" Dante screamed as he sprinted towards Rabi through the horde of demons, triggering violently and sending the demons near him flying from the blast of power. He rammed into Rabi, tackling the demon to the ground and knocking Sparda from its grasp. The sword clattered to the black stone as Dante sat up, slamming his claws into the rabbit's head and ripping bloody cotton out of its head with its beady black eyes. The demon's blood pooled into the indents of the demonic writing of the closing Hell Gate, the triggered devil slayer still shredding Rabi into a disturbing gory mess of cotton and cloth.
Nero let his head fall to the side and opened his eyes, watching as the crimson form of the elder man ruthlessly hacking the rabbit into hundreds of pieces. He was having trouble breathing through the blood overflowing his throat, gripping the stone under him with the talons of his devil bringer tight enough to indent the dense material of the Hell Gate. The ringing in his ears grew louder as the edges of his vision darkened. He mouthed Dante's name as his vision blacked out and tears rolled down his pale cheeks, the last image in his head being of the elder covered in blood and attacking the corpse of the already dead rabbit.
Dante only stopped when he was practically pulling soaked cotton from wet ruby cotton, not even a shred of the suit the rabbit had worn in one piece. He was panting heavily, his demon side still out for more demonic blood as it refused to let him detrigger. He looked over at the younger man, gritting his teeth hard enough to hurt when he saw that Nero was not moving. The older hunter stood up from the shredded pile of what was once Rabi, running to the other hunter's side as quickly as he could and dropping to his knees beside him.
"Nero!" He cupped the side of Nero's face, not caring that he was smearing the young man's blood on the claws of his hand. His throat tightened until he was sure it had sealed itself when he saw how pale the other was, his azure eyes closed lightly with tear streaks staining the skin under them. More importantly, the other man was not breathing. "Come on, kid! Stay with me! You can't die on me like this, Nero!" Dante swallowed the lump in his throat, pressing one of his wings against the ex-order member's chest in order to stop the bleeding. He leaned down, pressing his lips to the younger man's and attempting to blow air into his lungs. Tears stung in his crimson eyes as Nero remained unresponsive but he refused to give in and let him die. "Come back to me, Nero! I'll do anything! I'll stop drinking. I'll stop messing up the office just to see you clean it. I'll stop calling you 'kid'. I'll even give up pizza! Just don't die on me, Nero!"
Dante did not stop trying until he felt the demons that had poured into the human world before the gate closed neared them. He tore off the remains of his black shirt, wrapping it tightly around Nero's chest before standing up. The elder woke from his demon side taking over again, everything just a blur of dark crimson and blood. He walked back to where Nero was laying, kneeling down again and trying to get the younger man to breathe again while stopping the bleeding.
Lady and Trish watched him from the trees, just arriving after having to deal with the demons who had found their way into the city. The blond woman found herself wiping tears from her eyes as Dante persisted on his attempts to get the younger demon slayer to live. She felt Lady's comforting hand on her shoulder, the devil huntress not looking very content with the situation either.
"We should stop him now. Otherwise, he'll never leave." Lady said softly, glancing sorrowfully at the demonic woman. Trish nodded somberly, clearing her throat in an attempt to compose herself. "Don't demons mate for life?" She asked the blond woman before they took a step towards the desperate man, almost not wanting to confirm her fears.
"That's why I'm crying." Trish said nothing more, covering her mouth as she blinked away the tears in her eyes. Lady sighed sadly, rubbing the other woman's shoulder comfortingly before they walked across the field towards the elder man.
Dante stood up quickly when he heard footsteps on the black stone behind him, eager to fight and kill more of the bastards that hurt Nero. He unclenched his fists when he noticed the two familiar women behind him, each looking at him sympathetically. He shook his head at the women, denying the truth that their eyes told him. Lady looked down at the motionless man soaked in his own blood and the rain before meeting Dante's demonic eyes, nodding slowly.
The devil hunter sank to his knees, burying his face in his hands as the tears poured down his cheeks. He shut his eyes tightly, hoping that this was all just some sick joke or a horrible nightmare. He just wanted to wake up to Nero kicking his ass for sleeping in too late again or the younger man nuzzling his neck during one of the rare mornings he woke up before the other. Nero could not be dead. Dante would never accept that.